Councils urged to roll out air quality initiatives

The government has today stepped up its support for the wider rollout of low-emission zones and other measures to tackle urban air pollution with the release of new guidance on how local authorities should implement air quality schemes.

The UK could soon face legal action from the EU over consistent breaches of air quality regulations and the government is urging local authorities to implement a range of measures designed to cut emissions of gases such as nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide and particulates known to contribute to asthma and heart disease.

Environment minister Lord Hunt has written to all local authorities in England highlighting the launch of the new guidance and the practical role measures to improve air quality can have "in working towards the achievement of the UK's air quality objectives and its obligations in meeting EU air quality limit values".

The new guides include advice on how best to set up low-emission zones such as that pioneered in London, promote adoption of low-emission vehicles, and provide incentives to motorists to retrofit abatement equipment to existing vehicles. It also sets out guidelines on how best to assess the impact of such measures on local air quality.

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the government was not mandating the rollout of air quality measures, arguing that the guidance was intended to help councils already considering rolling out such a scheme. However, he added that the UK did have EU air quality targets over the next five years that the government was committed to meeting.

Last month it emerged that the EU was preparing legal action against the UK over its consistent breaching of rules governing the emissions of air particulates known as PM10s.

According to Guardian reports, documents obtained by the Campaign for Clean Air in London showed that more than 20 UK cities and towns had breached the EU law on PM10s since it came into force in 2006.

The legal action is expected to take two years to come to court but if found guilty, the UK government could face unlimited fines.

Ministers are also concerned that the case could be followed by a wave of legal action centred on the UK's poor air quality record. Currently, the UK has exemption from a number of EU air quality rules, but that exemption is due to expire in 2010 and experts are sceptical about the UK's ability to meet the EU targets.